Name: Uxia Pereira Alonso
Major: Mechanical engineering
Classification: Senior
Graduation date: Fall 2023
Hometown: Lugo, Spain
Extracurricular activities: “I’m in the track and field team here in UTRGV and that, basically, takes all my time.”
What are the differences between your hometown and the United States? “It’s a lot of differences. I will say the first one is the interaction with people, like, society in general. If you’re Hispanic, you kind of know how it works. … Here, people … celebrate more [quietly] or, like, at the beginning, it was harder for me to integrate, also for my accent, my language and everything. But I will say the major difference is food.”
What are your goals? “So, basically, my goal is to graduate. I’m thankful that I can do my sport and everything and be able to study. But, yeah, [go] back home and start working until I can get an independent job, you know, work a little bit for myself without having a boss and all this.”
Who is your role model? “My role model, I will say, [is] my dad. He started from zero when he was my age. My grandparents didn’t have a lot of financial health, you know. They were middle low class. So, he worked really hard. He finished school … also in engineering. … I’m grateful that he was able to maintain me.”
Why did you choose the major you are in? “It was a little bit of influence on my family because of the background that I have. … [My dad] motivated me a lot and, since I like it, I say, “Well, let’s try [it].’ And I ended up liking it.”
What movies or shows do you like? “I’m not a big TV fan, but I feel I really like crime shows. I [like] all this investigation, you know, like, drama things. … I watch a little bit of ‘[CSI: Crime Scene Investigation]’ and all these things.”
What advice would you give other international students? “Don’t give up. I have friends that are starting. They never finish or they went back home. … If you need help, never doubt in asking. If it’s physiological [or] help with the studies, here, we have a lot of facilities. Don’t give up and use the research that you have.”
–Compiled by Fatima Gamez Lopez
